Leaders React to Steve Job’s Demise

It truly is sad as the world has lost a thinker, a innovator and a business man who brought back the dieing Apple to be the world’s most profitable company. Some of the most prominent figures in the tech industry as well as politicians offered their condolences to Mr. Steve Jobs.

On Twitter, personal websites, Facebook and Google+, among other sites, luminaries from Bill Gates and Tim Cook to Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg offered their condolences to Steve Jobs’ family and paid tribute to his unparalleled contributions.

CEO Tim Cook sent out a company wide email which read,

“Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Bill Gates expressed his condolences for Jobs’ loved ones in a statement, “I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”

Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page posted on his Google+ account: “I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. His focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. My thoughts and Google’s are with his family and the whole Apple family.”

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo tweeted the following: ”Once in a rare while, somebody comes along who doesnt just raise the bar, they create an entirely new standard of measurement. #RIPSteveJobs”

Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook, “Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.” Steve Ballmer wrote in a post on Microsoft’s News Center that Jobs was “a true visionary.” He continued, “I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. My heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.”

AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement, “We are saddened by the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was an iconic inventor, visionary, and entrepreneur, and we had the privilege to know him as partner and friend. All of us at AT&T offer our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife, family, and his Apple family.”

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said, “Steve defined a generation of style and technology that’s unlikely to be matched again,” according to the CNBC.

Flickr user Swiftly wrote: “Everyday I go to school with my iPhone, and everyday I come home to my MacBook.”

“No one wants to die,” Steve Jobs said some time. “Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.”

“It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

“And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Flickr’s Swiftly continued: “Seriously, that speech is so inspirational to me. I know a lot of you probably aren’t that sad about it and may just think of him as the creator of Apple. Like ‘Oh, cool. But he’s gone now.’”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do to change your opinion on that I guess, but he was a pretty cool guy to me. He was only 56 and died from cancer. I think that’s pretty sad, but it goes to show you how short everything can be.”

“As my mom told me, he truly changed the world. Thanks Steve. I am sad to see you leave. Rest in peace.”